"Girl" horror flicks vs. "Guy" horror flicks.

[Tisiphone]

^I'd go with suspense, or even psychological horror. You could say that about a lot of Hitchcock films.

 

[Cassie]

I stopped watching horror when they all started relying on gore for shock value.. so my favorite horror movies are old, lol. I loved Hellraiser, Phantasm, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, I think because they actually had an explanation for the horror that I found interesting. I'd much rather read horror than watch horror, again for the story and not the gore. IMO, gross isn't scary it's just gross.

 

[jack]

D9 is sci-fi. The 28 X Later series didn't have traditional undead zombies. They were zombies nonetheless: mindless, infected humans, no sense of self-preservation, and a need to feed on human flesh. Return of the Living Dead didn't have traditional zombies, either. They could carry a conversation. Romero's zombies were really the only true zombies. We won't discuss Bub from Day of the Dead.

Here's a question. What category do these films fall into: The Birds, Psycho (original), and Death Proof? Suspense, Horror, Sci-Fi?

More signs that recent Horror films are aimed at women: Twilight. I rest my case.

My girlfriend is very adamant about the fact that if we watch a horror film, I have to make sure to go to bed at the same time as her.

The Birds was one of the very first psychological horror films. Romero says it was the inspiration for NOTLD, and I can relate.

Psycho is the retelling of the Ed Gein story, so that's a horror film too.

I've never seen Death Proof, so no comment.

 

[jack]

I stopped watching horror when they all started relying on gore for shock value.. so my favorite horror movies are old, lol. I loved Hellraiser, Phantasm, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, I think because they actually had an explanation for the horror that I found interesting. I'd much rather read horror than watch horror, again for the story and not the gore. IMO, gross isn't scary it's just gross.

Check out the Cronenberg films, especially some of the earlier ones like "They Came From Within" ( aka shivers) and "Rabid" with Marilyn Chambers.

He also did a rocker with Jeremy Irons and Genevieve Bujold called Dead Ringers, which is a MUST see.

 

[Donovan]

D9 is sci-fi. The 28 X Later series didn't have traditional undead zombies. They were zombies nonetheless: mindless, infected humans, no sense of self-preservation, and a need to feed on human flesh. Return of the Living Dead didn't have traditional zombies, either. They could carry a conversation. Romero's zombies were really the only true zombies. We won't discuss Bub from Day of the Dead.

Exactly what I said, very succinct. Although I would also point out that the ORIGINAL original zombies were still alive, and usually succumbed to witchcraft or voodoo to get into that state. Romero revolutionized the genre and re-invented it so that all our modern interpretations come from his vision in some sense. 28xlater still carries the zombie stamp even if the devil's in the details.

More signs that recent Horror films are aimed at women: Twilight. I rest my case.

I haven't seen this but I'd argue it isn't horror rather than gothic style romance. The story isn't scary vampires, it's hot and sexy ones. Even the bad guys.

My girlfriend is very adamant about the fact that if we watch a horror film, I have to make sure to go to bed at the same time as her.

not that there's anything wrong with that. It's statistically proven that horror films are AWESOME for making girls crave physical comfort...

 

[Tisiphone]

Check out the Cronenberg films, especially some of the earlier ones like "They Came From Within" ( aka shivers) and "Rabid" with Marilyn Chambers.

He also did a rocker with Jeremy Irons and Genevieve Bujold called Dead Ringers, which is a MUST see.

Oooh...Dead Ringers. Fantastic film.

 

[jack]

Yes, I love it when he ties her up to the front of the bed with surgical tubing and makes her come like a rocket.

 

[Conchaga]

Exactly what I said, very succinct. Although I would also point out that the ORIGINAL original zombies were still alive, and usually succumbed to witchcraft or voodoo to get into that state. Romero revolutionized the genre and re-invented it so that all our modern interpretations come from his vision in some sense. 28xlater still carries the zombie stamp even if the devil's in the details.

Well, the first Zombie movie that comes to mind is White Zombie (1932). The girl had a spell cast on her.

The latest Zombie movie I can think of (Shaun of the Dead) explained it as an astrological gas (it was a Romero nod).

Whatever the reason, the result is always mindless humans with a desire to eat other humans.

I haven't seen this but I'd argue it isn't horror rather than gothic style romance. The story isn't scary vampires, it's hot and sexy ones. Even the bad guys.

Yeah, but unfortunately it falls into the dual placement of Sci-Fi/Horror.

not that there's anything wrong with that. It's statistically proven that horror films are AWESOME for making girls crave physical comfort...

EXACTLY!

 

[Tisiphone]

I don't crave the comfort, probably because movies don't really scare me. I can't remember the last time I slept with the lights on. I think the last movie that sorta freaked me out was The Mothman Prophecies.

 

[Conchaga]

Yeah, but you're the girl that gets turned on by a good horror flick. You're the exception that proves the rule.

 

[Tisiphone]

Well, there is that.

 

[Cacophony]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Twilight is NOT horror at all. It's not even remotely frightening or suspenseful. I'm not sure if there's anyone following the movies at all, so I won't spoil it, but there is a brief moment in the last book that can possibly be considered horror, and then it just ends up being all hunky dory. Twilight is nothing more than a shallow romance novel/movie, where the female protagonist is completely reliant on the male. She's barely able to tie her own shoes on her own.

I'd say that you could make a case for it being a horror movie because of what it seems to make people do, but that has less to do with the storyline and more to do with crazy teenage girls.

By the way, I totally have read all the Twilight books multiple times I picked up the first one because I was slamming it, and I sadly liked it and bought the rest of them. I sometimes can't defeat my girly nature.

Someone mentioned Death Proof before - I'd have to say that that's a pretty good example of light horror. Nothing that's too heavy or confusing, but a good old psychotic guy chasing pretty girls around. It's simple, but it is effective.

Now, what about a movie like Cast Away? I'd call that horror, if only because he is in one of the most terrifying situations there is and we get to watch him slowly go insane because of it.

 

[Tisiphone]

Someone mentioned Death Proof before - I'd have to say that that's a pretty good example of light horror. Nothing that's too heavy or confusing, but a good old psychotic guy chasing pretty girls around. It's simple, but it is effective.

Like Duel with chicks.

 

[Conchaga]

No, twilight is horror. There's a group of angry "vampires"* who want to eat Bella. There's a chase and then there's a pretty bloody fight. Therefore, it gets knocked into horror by default.

*I put vampire into quotes because the Twilight "vampires" are really reptiles. They have glittery, scaly skin, they feel better in sunlight, their skin is cold to the touch denoting cold-blooded, and they excrete venom from their teeth. Want any more proof?

 

[Cacophony]

There's a difference between cold blooded and no blooded.

And their skin isn't scaly, it's smooth.

The whole chase and fight and whatnot is really not that important, though. It's absolutely secondary to the love story, and actually feeds into it. I'm not saying there aren't horror aspects, but that they are only in place to advance the love story, not to stand alone.

 

[Donovan]

I don't crave the comfort, probably because movies don't really scare me. I can't remember the last time I slept with the lights on. I think the last movie that sorta freaked me out was The Mothman Prophecies.

Which is funny because after all the talk about guts and glory and action, the one you admit being freaked out by is a methodical, slow-paced suspense thriller I'd call a very good example of what scary movies should strive for. Not the best example, but good.

 

[Donovan]

No, twilight is horror. There's a group of angry "vampires"* who want to eat Bella. There's a chase and then there's a pretty bloody fight. Therefore, it gets knocked into horror by default.

*I put vampire into quotes because the Twilight "vampires" are really reptiles. They have glittery, scaly skin, they feel better in sunlight, their skin is cold to the touch denoting cold-blooded, and they excrete venom from their teeth. Want any more proof?

Big deal, I watched five movies in a row about a kid being chased by demons, dragons, ghosts, monsters, werewolves, giant spiders, psychopaths and the worst evil guy on the planet, and all of them wanted him dead.

But that don't make Harry Potter "horror" movies, and neither is Twilight. Besides, ask any teenager you know, they'll tell you the world is out to get them, too.

 

[Ilyanna]

For me, a story falls into the category of 'horror' when it aims, and hopefully succeeds, to make me feel anxious/scared/uncomfortable even after the story has ended.
There are a lot of suspense movies or thrillers that achieve to make me feel the above while watching it, but the feeling doesn't last because the villain is dead or the plot is solved in a way that the viewer is safe to assume that there is no threat left.
Real horror, at least in my opinion, leaves you with this peculiar feeling that while you rationally know there aren't any monsters, you still can't be 100% certain so maybe you still should look under the bed and make sure your extremities are well-covered...

I can see how makers of horror movies might have some kind of standard set of what creeps out a female viewer vs a male viewer, just like there are cut-and-dried opinions about differences between men and women in general, but do you really think it is customary for a director to make a movie intended specifically for one gender (in the horror genre, that is. Twilight is not horror, but it so is written for girls )

 

[Archibald Nixon]

Without having gone through this entire thread to see if it's been mentioned: Has anyone here ever seen Picnic at Hanging Rock?

 

[Donovan]

No is it good?